Books like Mansfield Revisited

Do you ever wonder what came of the folks at Mansfield Park after the finish of that Austen novel? I did. As my second favorite Austen novel, I have spent some time speculating and I love getting my hands on books where someone else has done this as well.I enjoyed the author's Jane Fairfax, a variation on Emma, so I was pleased to pick up an older copy of Mansfield Revisited. I discovered soon enough that I enjoyed it just as much. Her writing style caught the spirit of Austen's Mansfield Park so well.The sequel is told through the voice and thoughts of Susan Price who was a minor character in the original. It slowly starts rolling during the necessary time of catching the reader up on the last four years with all the family remaining at Mansfield and those abroad. The catalyst to thing changing in the Mansfield environs involve the death of Sir Thomas and Mrs. Norris which happen just prior to the book and the move back into the neighborhood by someone who had once been intimate with the family.I daresay many would find this a slow slosh, but I didn't find it so. It was subtle in ways, but rich and engaging. Susan is not like her sister in many ways and her observations about others are sharper and she will make her point when necessary. I enjoyed the byplay between Susan and Tom. I found their exchanges fun and spirited. Julia became the new version of Aunt Norris which I also found fun, in an annoying sort of way. Edmund and Fanny are off scene from nearly the opening pages and the author put in some lovely original characters who were replacing them at the vicarage. William Price makes an appearance and I loved that since he's my favorite minor character from the original.In the end, after tears were shed over a sad moment, I was quite pleased with the outcome the author gave for the sequel.Eventually, I'll look up more of her Austenesque works. I recommend this one for those who enjoy Austenesque sequels that hold fairly close to the original.